Spicy Beer and Peanut Butter BBQ Baste

Ditch the bottled stuff, and get saucy with this sweet and spicy barbecue baste. Perfect on ribs, steak, chicken or mixed into a burger, you can customize the spiciness to your liking. Like any barbecue sauce, to avoid burning be mindful by grilling over indirect heat, or slather it on during the last few minutes.

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cooking time: 20 minutes
  • Makes: 2⅓ cups

Ingredients

Sauce

1 tbsp (15 mL) peanut oil
½ cup (125 mL) onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1¼ cup (300 mL) ketchup
¾ cup (175 mL) beer
½ cup (125 mL) peanut butter, preferably crunchy
½ cup (125 mL) brown sugar
¼ cup (60 mL) cider vinegar
¼ cup (60 mL) fancy molasses
2 tbsp (30 mL) Worcestershire sauce
1 large canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
1 tbsp (15 mL) hot pepper sauce, preferably chipotle-style

Directions

Pour oil into a large saucepan over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add onion and garlic, stirring just until soft.

Add remaining ingredients to the saucepan and whisk until smooth. Bring sauce to a boil, stirring frequently.

Reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes. Sauce will thicken more upon cooling.

Nutrition

Per 2 tbsp (30 mL): 60 calories, 2.5 g fat (0.4 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g protein, 8 g carbohydrate, 0 g fibre, 7 g sugars, 140 mg sodium.